Boulder County subdivision roads funding to be on 2013 ballot

By Joe Rubino Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
09/25/2012 10:39:58 PM MDT

Updated:
09/25/2012 10:40:43 PM MDT

Amber Donner stands near a damaged section of pavement on Fairways Drive on Sept. 18 near her home in unincorporated Boulder County. Funding for subdivision road maintenance has not been part of Boulder County policy since the comprehensive plan was updated in 1995, county spokesman Dan Rowland said.
(
Matthew Jonas
)

The Board of County Commissioners decided Tuesday in favor of creating a public improvement district to pay for repairing and repaving deteriorating roads in unincorporated Boulder County subdivisions.

But the work will likely not begin until 2014 at the earliest.

The proposed district, which would raise money for roadwork through mill levy assessments, must be approved by affected voters -- owners of about 10,650 properties -- in the November 2013 election before it can take effect.

At issue Tuesday was how the county would raise an estimated $48 million to $50 million to fund rehabilitation work on an estimated 150 miles of subdivision roads in unincorporated Boulder County.

The two primary choices facing the commissioners were to create a local improvement district, which would have billed subdivision property owners annually for 15 years before dissolving, or the more permanent public improvement district.

The meeting Tuesday followed a three-hour public hearing last week when several dozen subdivision residents spoke.

"The choice that I would choose if I were a homeowner would be the public improvement district because it feels like it is the most equitable to folks, it's permanent and it's tax-deductible," Commissioner Deb Gardner said. "Really the best part for me, too, is it gives the public an opportunity to vote on it."

Gardner and Cindy Domenico favored the public improvement district option.

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It will require a majority vote from the subdivision property owners in next year's general election, with the increased mill levy taking effect in 2014. It would raise an estimated $50 million over 15 years, with bills on properties assessed at $500,000 ranging from $279 the first year to $343 in the 15th year, according to county staff projections.

All subdivision roads would be reconstructed or overlaid and chip sealed at least once over 15 years.

Commissioner Will Toor voted instead in favor of the local improvement district, primarily, he said, because the work could begin sooner, keeping the overall costs closer to $48 million.

As time passes, Boulder County Transportation Director George Gerstle pointed out Tuesday, roads will further deteriorate and inflation will drive up costs. The local improvement district, which would have created an unique annual fee for residents of each of the more than 100 subdivisions, would have expired after 15 years.

"It allows us to get started immediately," Toor said. "It is fiscally responsible to move forward as quickly as possible."

Toor argued in part for a hybrid plan that would have created the local improvement district first -- so money could begin flowing in -- and then allow subdivision residents to vote on a public district later.

But Domenico said the local district would not have created a permanent funding mechanism for future work. She said that if the public improvement district fails next year, something else will have to be done to address road conditions, likely a local improvement district.

Pine Brook Hill resident Jim Eyster said after Tuesday's decision that he expects the public improvement district to be defeated next year.

"Nobody trusts the county government anymore," Pine Brook resident John Seward said. "The roads don't all need to be rebuilt. If they had been doing maintenance, things wouldn't have been that bad."

Toor said he thought it would be fair for the county to contribute 20 percent of the costs of the roadwork, but that figure has not been guaranteed.

Funding for subdivision road maintenance has not been part of Boulder County policy since the comprehensive plan was updated in 1995, county spokesman Dan Rowland said. It was perceived as only benefiting a small percentage of county residents at the time, Rowland said.

County officials will start preparing to put the proposed public improvement district on the ballot next summer, but in the meantime, their emphasis will be on outreach and discussion about the matter.

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